In the early 1970s, a small group of photographers calling themselves the Co-Optic Group—including Martin Parr, Gerry Badger, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, and Stephen Weiss—set out to take picture-postcard snapshots of what the ‘real Britain’ looked like. Their results are by turns nostalgic and extreme, with deckchair kips, tobacconists and a child forever blowing bubbles in front of Enoch Powell.
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Enoch Powell Electioneering in 1970, by Paul Hill. Photograph: Co-Optic Archive. |
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Girl on a Spacehopper in 1971, by Sirkka Liisa Konttinen. Photograph: Co-Optic Archive. |
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Cricket Power in Acton, by Stephen Weiss. Photograph: Stephen Weiss/Co-Optic Archive. |
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Seaford in 1972, by Roy King. Photograph: Co-Optic Archive. |
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Blackpool in 1971, by Martin Parr. Photograph: Co-Optic Archive. |
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Brighton Billboard, by Dorothy Bohm. Photograph: Co-Optic Archive. |
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John Knill Ceremony in 1971, by Homer Sykes. Photograph: Co-Optic Archive. |
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Salford in Lancashire, by Nick Hedges. Photograph: Nick Hedges/Co-Optic Archive. |